As soon as Greez left hyperspace, the first thing all of them saw was a massive hurricane winding over the planet of Zeffo. It stretched far across the atmosphere, Y/n standing up from her seat to peer over Cal's shoulder as she got a better look at the view.
"Heck of a storm brewing down there," Greez commented as he fidgeted with the console. Passing a glance to Cal, he continued. "This might not be the best time to land."
"Something strange," Cere began, listening closely to the headset in her ear. "Those winds are interfering with our comms."
"Hey, Cordova mentioned something about peace in the eye of the storm? Well, I can just make out a settlement in the middle of it," Cal spoke up from the scanners.
"Then we have to get there," Cere insisted.
"It's definitely worth a shot," Y/n shrugged from her place behind Cal.
Greez grumbled out, "Copy that," hesitant on sending his ship deep into the massive storm. "Y/n, you might wanna take a seat for this."
The doctor sat down, saying, "Don't have to tell me twice." She clipped her blaster to her belt, finishing up rewiring the grappling hook on her gun.
When they entered the atmosphere, immediately the crew of the Mantis felt the shock of the storm hitting them. The wind bumped against the ship, creating turbulence as Greez maneuvered through the tunnels of wind that he could. They came closer and closer to the eye of the storm, finding themselves surrounded by snow covered mountains and winding rivers. One particular lurch in the Mantis' path cause Cal to let out a nervous breath, holding on to the armrest of his seat. Greez scoffed slightly, glancing at the boy when he spoke.
"Couple of bumps ain't gonna kill ya, kid." He laughed with gritted teeth before muttering to himself, "Unless the wind picks up."
Beep beep bo-beep! BD-1 trilled from his place on the dashboard, looking over at Greez with an accusatory stance.
Greez did nothing to acknowledge the droid except say to Cal, "Can you tell that bucket of bolts to keep his opinion to himself?"
"I'm sure everything is under control," Cere attempted to calm Greez's grumbly demeanor.
"Course it's under control, it's just a little tricky," Greez sniped back, his hands gripping the steering console tightly. He made a tight turn, putting the Mantis into landing mode once he spotted a landing platform where he could safely keep the ship. The rain and winds battered down onto the windshield, Y/n wincing at the sight. "Okay. Hold on, hold on, hold on!" he let out, pushing down the switch as the Mantis finally touched ground with a loud thump to the floor. Cal gripped his chair, looking back at Y/n with a disbelieving grin when Greez laughed, "Ha! Perfect landin, heh. Greezy money, baby."
"But I'm still getting a lot of interference on the comms," Cere broke though his joyful moment. "It's gonna take me a minute to get them back up."
Cal shrugged, letting BD-1 onto his arm as he stood and said, "I'll search for signs of Cordova in the meantime."
"Cal," Y/n called him as she stood, gaining his attention with a quirk of his brow. "I'll come with you."
"Y/n, no. We don't know what's out there-"
"Which is exactly the reason why you should let me come," Y/n argued back. He sighed, putting his hands on his hips as she said, "With the comms down, we aren't going to have any communication with you until Cere can get them back up. It's safer to go out there in a pair instead of alone and risk you getting injured, or worse."
Cal stared at her, debating in his head whether this was a good idea. She raised her eyebrows at him, waiting for an answer, until he closed his eyes and said, "Alright. You've... got a point. Let's go."
Cere looked back at the two of them with a slightly surprised edge in her eyes. Nodding, she spoke before they left. "I'll be in touch with you both once I crack this."
"We'll be listening," Y/n spoke, click-winking before beginning to head to the open ramp.
"Cal," Cere called, stopping the Jedi in his tracks. He gestured to Y/n to go ahead and turned to face Cere, but she stood on the ramp, waiting and listening.
She wondered what Cere could want with Cal before sending him off, most of their conversation being simply the woman telling him of her time with Cordova and how the search for these civilizations affected them. Until Cal spoke up after, saying how it couldn't have been easy. He spoke of someone, a friend he had on Bracca when he was at his lowest point, and how this friend sacrificed himself so that Cal could survive. Y/n put her head down in pity of the words. Cal had been through so much in his life. The loss of his home, his religion, having to hide from the world who he truly is, and even now losing a close friend. Through all this, he remained strong. Y/n couldn't help the touch of admiration that flowed into her.
When he finally exited, she stood up straighter and edged herself closer to the landing pad instead of the ramp. BD-1 beeped his excitement at his new adventure, while he nodded his head towards a nearby path and said, "Let's go."
Y/n followed, pursing her lips as they started down the snow spotted trailed. "So," she began, her hands sitting in her pants pockets. "What did Cere ask you about?"
"Come on," Cal spoke back to her, his lip perked up. "I know you were eavesdropping."
Y/n gaped as she refuted, "I was dropping no eaves. I was simply... curious." BD-1 whistled his disagreement of her choice of words, causing her to turn to the droid as Cal let out a simple laugh. "That sentence made perfect sense. And, yes it was simple curiosity."
"If you say so. Although, BD seems to think you were," Cal shrugged.
Y/n huffed, although she was obviously amused. Her tone became softer when she asked, "Who was Prauf?" Cal stiffened.
His breath hitched in his throat as a sudden wave crashed down on him. His eyes met hers for a moment as he sniffed slightly, saying, "He was a friend back on Bracca. He was actually one of the first people to help show me around the place." Cal paused, looking at the ground as BD let out a sad beep-boop. "He sacrificed himself to the Second Sister so I could escape."
"He sounded like a strong man," Y/n told him, and Cal managed a smile back to her. "And a very good friend."
"He was."
BD-1 interrupted their conversation, turning their attention to the two animals in front of them. They looked like large womp rats, but with razor sharp teeth and a sinister look on their red tinted bodies. The two beasts were feasting on the remains of a Stormtrooper, pulling at the poor man's arm and leg. "They sure as hell don't look friendly," Y/n commented, taking out her blaster.
The click of the gun alerted them to the presence of the two humans. Turning from their lunch, they pounced towards them, Y/n blasting the one running after her while Cal took care of the other with his lightsaber. While both of them were down, BD jumped from Cal's shoulder and scanned the dead animals, which were discovered to be scazz, and the dead body of the Stormtrooper. "We're lucky that was him and not us," Cal said, hefty breaths leaving him as he shut off his weapon. "But that just means the Empire found this place before we did."
Static crackled in their earpieces, both of them stopping once they heard the familiar sound of Cere's voice saying, "Cal, Y/n, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear," Y/n spoke up, her blaster clipped back onto her belt.
"The Empire, they found Zeffo," Cal responded quickly.
"If they were following the Mantis, we would've been swarmed already."
"Could they be looking for the tombs?"
"Let's hope not," Cere grimly voiced. "Just got our comms working. I'll try the same workaround to crack into theirs."
"We'll be here in the meantime," Y/n said, and the comms cut off.
Cal meant to head forward, but the determined look in Y/n's eyes caused him to stop her and say, "Why don't you head back to the Mantis? The comms are back online now. If there's any trouble, I can contact you."
"Why so desperate, Kestis?" Y/n questioned him back. Her tone had gone from neutral to irritated. "Do you not want me here?"
"No!" Cal quickly corrected himself. He didn't want her to think he hated her company. "I just don't want you getting hurt now that we know the Empire is here. Cere and Greez only have one doctor."
"And so do you," Y/n reminded him, raising her eyebrows. Patting a hand on his shoulder, she shrugged slightly and said, "You don't have to worry about me. On top of being able to handle my own injuries, I was deep in the Coruscant fighting rings for years. Trust me when I say I can hold my own in a fight."
She walked past him, heading further down the path as he sighed. Cal blinked at her words, until BD-1 beeped in his ear, the Jedi responding with, "No, it's not because she's a girl."
Bweep-boo trill
"Of course there's other explanations- BD, focus."
Beep-boop
"Thank you."
The trio reached an abandoned village, scouting the outer rim of it when they saw two Scout Troopers walking along the rest of the road leading towards it. They crouched low at first, listening to the boorish talk the troopers engaged in, discussing what they would do should they run into a jotaz. "One for you, one for me?" Y/n questioned with a smirk, her blaster tight in her hand.
Cal nodded his head and ignited his saber. The sound of the ancient weapon alerted the two troopers to their position. "Get down on the ground!" one of them shouted, but he let out a cry of pain when Y/n dodged his baton swing, gripped his arm, and twisted it to have easy access for her blaster under his helmet. While Cal cut down his own, Y/n shot her bolt directly up the trooper's helmet, a burning hiss rising from the now dead body of the Imp.
"Whatever happened to 'do no harm'?" Cal questioned, his lightsaber still alight at his side.
The doctor gave him a hard look. "The Empire," she responded, and looked down to the now discarded electric baton the dead Scout Trooper dropped. "Don't mind if I do," she muttered to herself, picking it up off the ground and activating it. The electricity crackled to life on the end of the baton, highlighting her eyes. "Should come in handy."
"Let's get going. We still have a lot of ground to cover," Cal informed her, and carefully moved forward. As he did, he began to hear more of the stormtroopers in the area covering the whole of the abandoned village. BD scanned an eviction notice nailed to one of the doors, and while he did, Cal read it and scoffed, "It's all lies. The Empire just wanted this land."
"There's nothing we can do about it now," Y/n shook her head. "We've still got the rest of this village filled with Imps."
The duo cleared the small settlement of the remaining Imperial invasion, moving along the path. With Y/n's new electric baton, she was able to cut down the troopers much faster. They went further up into the mountain, passing through an abandoned turbine facility and being able to come out on the other side to see a large statue in the distance. They both stopped and gaped at the view, the stature appearing to be a Zeffo man sitting in a large chair. "Whoa. That's gotta be one of the Zeffo," Cal spoke.
Y/n gazed out at the distance they had to cover to get to the tomb, letting out an annoyed sigh. "We still have so far to go."
Cal gave her a grin, saying, "You could always turn back. I bet Cere and Greez miss you back on the Mantis."
"You'd have to drag me," she gave him a grin back, turning and igniting the baton in her her when she caught sight of the massive battalion of stormtroopers ahead of them. Finishing off those, it wasn't long on the path before they came across more Imperials in a large open area near the weathered monument. "Do they ever stop?"
"Looks like the Empire spared no expense in keeping Zeffo under their jurisdiction," Cal pondered, more to himself.
The closer they got to the tomb, the more they found signs of Imperial occupation. Most of the obstacles were difficult for Y/n to get past, but with Cals' Jedi skills, he was able to get them both up past the Empire's command post. Running up the hill, they turned a corner when they heard Cere contact them over the comms. "Cal, Y/n, the Empire's pinpointed your location. You need to move, fast."
"On it. Thanks."
"They'll be sending the Imps towards us in droves. We need to be careful," Y/n commented, Cal nodding his head at her assessment.
Cal opened his mouth to speak, closed it, then said, "Hey, I've been meaning to ask." Y/n looked back at him in bewilderment of his sudden curious nature. "How did you meet Cere and Greez?"
"Really? You're asking me this now?" she emphasized their situation by waving her hands at their location.
"I know. Not the best time," Cal winced at his words. "I've just been wondering because Cere seems very..." he searched for the rights words as she raised a brow, "protective of you."
Y/n sighed, turning and continuing down the path. "How about I tell you once we get back to the Mantis? Not when we are neck deep in an Imperial base." Cal watched her as she left, blinking to himself before he made to follow her and ignored BD-1's amused beeps. Following the path of an ice cave they found inside the mountain, they reached a small hidden valley filled with ruins and dangerous fauna. Looking ahead, they finally found the Zeffo tomb, but the winds around it were blowing unnaturally fast for the surrounding weather. "How the hell is that even possible?" Y/n wondered out loud.
"The Force is more powerful than even the Jedi Order could understand," Cal responded to her, putting a hand to his ear to contact Cere. "There's a storm up ahead. Something about it crippled the Empire's equipment. I can feel something pulling me there, beyond the storm."
"Follow it. Let the Force sharpen your instincts."
"Alright. I'll do my best."
"I see a way we can get down," Y/n spoke, pointing with the baton to a short path. "We can follow up those stairs to that cave entrance. Hopefully without running into any of those phillak." The two of them looked down at the horned beasts that guarded the tomb.
Cal nodded his head, jumping down while Y/n climbed halfway before dropping. They ran to the cave, having to defeat one of the phillak that got in their way, before rushing inside. They squeezed through the cracks in the rock, and the sight they were met with knocked the breath out of them. Literally.
"Never seen a storm to do that before," Cal commented, watching the winds twirl around the entrance to the tomb. A large bronze sphere sat in the center of the tomb, rocks caught up in the massive gales that nearly knocked them off their feet. BD let out an impressed whir. "Yeah, it's incredible."
Y/n hesitated, knowing she shouldn't go into this tomb. The Force was Cal's life, and Cordova's path was his journey. She was merely here to make sure he didn't die along the way. "Cal," she got his attention, the redhead turning to face here. "I'll leave you to explore the tomb. Cordova put you on this path."
"Are you sure?" he asked. Now that she was here, he didn't want her to leave his side just yet. He enjoyed her company and aid on his treks.
She nodded her head at his question. "I'll stand watch outside and let you know if anything happens." Patting her hand on his shoulder, she said, "Good luck, Cal."
"Stay safe, Y/n," Cal responded.
Beep-boop!
Y/n smiled and nodded to the droid. "You too, BD."
Cal lingered for an almost uncatchable moment, but turned and held up his hand to slow the flying winds. They paused in the air, hovering for a few seconds as Cal took his chance and raced to the center of the storm. Y/n watched from afar as he stepped onto the large golden entrance, twisting the ring on her finger as she did, before watching as he disappeared beneath the ground with a rumble of the mountain. Knowing he was gone, Y/n turned and made her way back to the ruined valley to wait for the Jedi to return.